2020 Archives | University of Maryland School of Medicine

August 28, 2020 | Sheilah Kast and Melissa Gerr

In this July 29, 1962 file photo, Mrs. Dayton George holds her son, Brian, 2, as she and her family take the Sabin oral polio vaccine in Richardson, Texas. CREDIT FERD KAUFMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Source: WYPR

A safe, effective vaccine against Covid-19 could resurrect jobs, send kids back to classrooms--change our lives. But how safe and effective? And how quickly can we have it?

Dr. Robert Gallo, the AIDS-research pioneer now leading virus science at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Global Virus Network, argues we could get much of the benefit by inoculating people with an old, very cheap drug -- the oral Polio vaccine developed seven decades ago.

Gallo contends it would trigger our ‘innate immunity’-- the body’s emergency response when a threat shows up.

Full interview on WYPR

Read the full story at: https://www.wypr.org/post/could-polio-vaccine-corral-covid-19

Contact

Institute of Human Virology
Jennifer Gonzales
Public Relations & Communications Manager
jennifer.gonzales@ihv.umaryland.edu

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) received an annual award for $3 million funded by the NIH Office of AIDS Research. The PFAP award is projected to total approximately $9 million over four years. Principal Investigators are Elana Rosenthal, MD and Sarah Kattakuzhy, MD, MPH.

Monday, July 17, 2023

Researchers from the Institute of Human Virology Discover that a Bacterial Protein Causes Genomic Instability and Contributes to Reduced Fertility, and Birth Defects

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland School of Maryland’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV), a Center of Excellence of the Global Virus Network (GVN), published new findings that emphasize the crucial role of the urinary and genital tract microbiota in adverse pregnancy outcomes and genomic instability that originate in the womb during fetal development.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Two-Time Lasker Awardee and Internationally Acclaimed Virologist, Robert C. Gallo, MD, To Step Down as Director of UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV)

Robert C. Gallo, MD, one of the world’s leading virologists and cancer researchers, announced he has stepped down from his position as Director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), effective March 24.

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Director Dr. Robert Gallo Co-Authors STAT Op-Ed with a U.S. Government Call to Action and Road Map for the Future of COVID-19

STAT today published "How the Biden administration’s Covid preparedness policies could narrow America’s political divide" co-authored by leadership of the Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 68 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 37 countries, and comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans and some animals. The opinion piece calls on the Biden Administration to “follow the science” in updating COVID-19 preparedness policies to align with the indefinite endemic phase the country is now facing.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Africa Defense Forum: Study: COVID-19 Bigger Risk For Pregnant Women

Pregnant women who catch COVID-19 are in much greater danger than previously suspected, according to a new study that analyzed data collected from six African countries.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Popular Science: As COVID vaccines reach kids worldwide, a gap in Africa leaves everyone exposed

Many African countries have fallen behind on delivering COVID shots to kids, despite a higher risk of severe sickness in a massively young population.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Baltimore Sun: With COVID cases rising, you’re still not fully vaxxed or boosted? Come on now.

Dan Rodricks: I recently had conversations with a middle-aged man who is extremely careful about what he puts into his body. He eats lots of fruits and vegetables and stays away from red meat and processed foods. He also refuses to get the vaccine against COVID-19, even as infections are on the rise again.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Quartz: Poor countries got screwed on COVID vaccines. They’re making sure it won’t happen again

Since early on, the pandemic has highlighted inequality both on a micro scale—within countries, between social classes and ethnic groups—and a macro one—between rich and poor countries. It also confirmed what many of those working in global health—particularly in and for low- and middle-income countries—expected: In an emergency, no matter the declared values and intention, people will first and foremost, and in many cases only, care about themselves and their own.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

'Live' Polio Vaccine Fires Up Immune System Providing Protection from SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Two new studies from the Global Virus Network, including the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology and in partnership with the Petroleum Industry Health Organization of Iran, provide evidence that getting the oral polio vaccine made from live, weakened polio-virus may protect people from COVID-19 infection by stimulating the immune system.

Friday, March 04, 2022

The Atlantic: The Pandemic Is Following a Very Predictable and Depressing Pattern

Americans, by and large, are putting the pandemic behind them. Now that Omicron is in the rearview mirror and cases are plummeting, even many of those who have stayed cautious for two full years are spouting narratives about “going back to normal” and “living with COVID-19.” But in the global South, COVID-19 is much harder to ignore. More than a year after the start of the mass-vaccination campaign, nearly 3 billion people are still waiting for their first shot.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

TIME: Knowing the Origins of COVID-19 Won't Change Much

Over two years since the first cases started appearing in Wuhan, China, there is much we don’t know about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. But a quick resolution to that question is possible: scientists could find bats in a cave somewhere in China or in southeast Asia and trace a chain leading from those bats to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. Realistically, however, recent history offers little promise for this to happen quickly.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Multi-Country African Research Reports High Rates of COVID-19-Related Deaths Among Hospitalized Children and Adolescents

African children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 experience much higher mortality rates than Europeans or North Americans of the same age, according to a recently published study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN). Both organizations are members of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

Tuesday, February 08, 2022

The New Yorker: Beyond the Booster Shot

Could a “broad spectrum” booster increase our immunity to many pathogens simultaneously? The first tuberculosis vaccine was developed in 1921, by two French scientists, Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin. It was called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, or B.C.G., and has long been one of the world’s most widely administered shots. From the beginning, its power was surprising. B.C.G. contains a bacterium similar to the one that causes TB, and engenders an immune defense specific to that disease. But, as Calmette noted in a paper in 1931, those vaccinated with B.C.G. at birth were around seventy-five per cent less likely to die in their early years of any cause.

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Washington Post: COVID-19 may have seasons for different temperature zones, study suggests

COVID-19 transmission may have seasonal spikes tied to temperature and humidity, increasing at different times of the year for different locations, a new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene suggests.

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Baltimore Sun: Doctors in Maryland see COVID treatments aiding return to more normal life, once the public can get them

The focus is increasingly on preventing hospitalizations and deaths, rather than stopping all COVID-19 infections, by using new therapies.

Monday, January 10, 2022

Yahoo! Finance: Adamis Pharmaceuticals Submits Fast Track Application to FDA for Tempol for the Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

Although recent oral antiviral drugs have been approved by the FDA, the Company believes that Tempol would provide an unmet medical need because of its unique mechanism of action and safety profile.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Washington Post: Remdesivir can help keep unvaccinated, high-risk people with covid-19 out of hospitals, study finds

The antiviral drug remdesivir can help keep unvaccinated people at risk of severe covid-19 out of hospitals, according to a study that found the treatment reduced hospitalization and death by 87 percent when given soon after diagnosis.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Ren TV (Russia): Virologist who discovered HIV urged to vaccinate children

Robert Gallo, director and co-founder of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland and co-founder of the Global Virus Network, discussed why it is important to vaccinate children against coronavirus.

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Conversations on Health Care: Robert Gallo, Scientist Who Co-Discovered HIV Offers Guidance to Patients as Omicron Increases

Dr. Gallo says their network of scientists knew early in the COVID-19 pandemic that the mRNA vaccines would be effective, but for a limited time, and that boosters will be required until the global outbreak is brought under control. He says it’s too soon to predict the full impact of the omicron variant, but that it is likely to overwhelm many countries.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Reuters Health via Medscape: Passive Exposure to Oral Polio Vaccine May Protect Against COVID-19 for at Least 6 Months

Mothers of children immunized with the oral polio vaccine, which is made from a live attenuated virus, seemed to be protected against symptomatic COVID-19 for at least six months based on a study in Iran.

Tuesday, November 02, 2021

CNN: Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine is 73.6% effective, according to new real-world study

In an accompanying commentary, Dr. Mohammad Sajadi of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, argued that the findings are part of a growing body of work that suggests "room for improvement" with the J&J vaccine.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Correio Braziliense: "It's obvious that no vaccine causes AIDS," says one of the virologists who discovered HIV

The virologist, and one of the discoverers of HIV, speaks to Correio about statements by President Bolsonaro live on social media

Friday, October 22, 2021

Healthline: Why Unvaccinated People Are Being Denied Organ Transplants

Experts say there are a number of reasons they prefer organ transplant recipients receive vaccinations against COVID-19 as well as other diseases before surgery.

Friday, October 15, 2021

WebMD: Vaccine hesitancy has always been around

Even as the fourth wave of COVID-19 cases trends downward, one aspect of the pandemic remains strong: differing opinions on the value of COVID-19 immunization and vaccine mandates across the U.S.

Thursday, September 02, 2021

Yahoo! Finance: Adamis Pharmaceuticals Doses First Patients in Phase 2/3 Clinical Trial for Tempol in the Treatment of COVID-19

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced the initiation of patient dosing in the Phase 2/3 clinical trial for Tempol, an oral antiviral product candidate, in adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. In preclinical studies, Tempol has been shown to have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity.

Monday, August 16, 2021

Maryland Public Television: On Who Needs COVID Booster Shots

Dr. Katya Prakash-Haft discusses why organ transplant recipients and other immune compromised people need COVID booster shots

Friday, August 13, 2021

WMAR: CDC Recommends Third Shot for Immunocompromised Americans

The federal agency’s decision follows the FDA’s move to authorize the additional shot of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. It comes after research has shown the vaccine isn’t as effective for immunocompromised people compared to the general population.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

The Chronicle of Higher Education: New CDC Mask-Wearing Guidance Could Alter Colleges’ Return-to-Campus Plans

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on Tuesday, recommending that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain circumstances due to the highly transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19. This may throw a wrench in return-to-campus plans for colleges that aimed to resume pre-pandemic operations.

Monday, July 26, 2021

WJLA: Amid virus surge, Fauci says some might 'likely' need booster shots

As COVID-19 cases surge and the highly infectious delta variant spreads across the United States, drugmakers and federal health officials remain divided over when and if people who have been vaccinated might need booster shots to bolster their immunity.

Friday, July 23, 2021

Newswise: COVID Variants and a Surge Among the Unvaccinated

Panelists will discuss the threat posed by new COVID variants and continued vaccine hesitancy.

Friday, July 23, 2021

WUSA: VERIFY: Here's a look at Japan's vaccination plan

People online claim the Olympics are in jeopardy because the country has no plan to vaccinate its population. That's false.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Nature: Should children get COVID vaccines? What the science says

With vaccination campaigns underway in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger people.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

USA Today: Fact check: Yes, viruses can mutate to become more deadly

As the U.S. faces down the COVID-19 Delta variant – now fast-becoming the nation's dominant strain – reports of a new Lambda variant that first emerged in Peru in August 2020 are gaining the attention of public health officials worldwide. News of this coronavirus variant is concerning, especially what it could mean for new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, all of which had been declining in the last few months. But one tweet being shared across social media claims new viral strains are nothing to be worried about.

Thursday, July 08, 2021

Bloomberg News: Dr. Gallo Says COVID-19 Is a Solvable Problem

Dr. Robert Gallo, The Global Virus Network Co-founder and Director at University of Maryland says COVID-19 is a solvable problem, as obviously it was easy to get a solvable vaccine.

Saturday, July 03, 2021

India Today: Exclusive: Virologist Dr. Robert Gallo Speaks On Third Wave, Effects On Children & Other COVID Issues

Will India and the world see a third wave, if yes then when? How much the third wave will affect children? If mRNA vaccine is the future of COVID-19 vaccines? World's top virologist, Dr. Robert Gallo, answers these and many other questions related to COVID-19 and its vaccination in an exclusive conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai.

Friday, June 25, 2021

Doctor Radio: What We Know About the Virology of COVID-19

Dr. Marc Siegel talks to the Co-founder & Director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Co-founder for the Global Virus Network, Dr. Robert Gallo, as well as the President of the Global Virus Network, Dr. Christian Brechot, about COVID-19 Origin, Immunity, Vaccines, and Variants.

Friday, June 25, 2021

Weather Channel: Mystery Thickens Over COVID-19's Origin; Claims of Hidden Early Genetic Information Attracts Further Scrutiny

COVID-19 pandemic has been wreaking worldwide havoc for nearly 20 months now. Yet, Its origin and early spread continue to be one of the most intriguing scientific puzzles of recent history. Claims that the earliest coronavirus strains leaked out from a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China have resurfaced and subsided multiple times, throughout the course of the pandemic. While many such claims were eventually disregarded as unfounded speculations of conspiracy theorists, allegations have continued against the Wuhan lab having known about the infection and its subsequent threat, much before the world at large was aware.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

The Washington Post: Wuhan lab’s classified work complicates search for pandemic’s origins

The Wuhan lab has drawn global scrutiny because of its research on bat coronaviruses in the city where the pandemic began. The events have shined a light on a research niche that — in China, the United States and elsewhere — operates with heightened secrecy because of the national security risks of handling deadly pathogens.

Monday, June 21, 2021

Reuters: India should brace for third COVID-19 wave by Oct, say health experts

A third wave of coronavirus infections is likely to hit India by October, and although it will be better controlled than the latest outbreak the pandemic will remain a public health threat for at least another year, according to a Reuters poll of medical experts.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Big Biology Podcast: Old vaccines for new pandemics (Episode 66)

What has COVID-19 taught us about preparing for future epidemics? Can we trigger innate immune responses – our first lines of defense - to mitigate novel infections? Can we use live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) meant for other infections to protect us while we develop specific vaccines for new pathogens? On this episode, we talk to virologists Konstantin Chumakov and Robert Gallo about their recent paper entitled “Old vaccines for new infections”.

Thursday, June 03, 2021

Slate: A Very Calm Guide to the Lab Leak Theory

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists still aren’t sure where exactly the virus that caused this mess came from, and how it was able to spread so rapidly among humans. With the origins of the coronavirus still up in the air, there’s been a lot of talk of the so-called lab leak theory—the idea that the virus spread to people in a laboratory accident, rather than jumping from a wild animal to a human. In recent days, there’s been a flurry of speculation, and it can be hard to parse what the lab leak theory is all about, how likely it is, and why it matters at all. Here’s our attempt to sort some of that out.

Monday, April 19, 2021

Bloomberg TV: Will Vaccines Protect Us From All Covid-19 Variants?

Dr. Robert Gallo, co-founder of the Global Virus Network and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, discusses the global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. Global cases passed 141 million, and deaths exceeded 3 million. Gallo speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia."

Monday, April 19, 2021

China Business Network: An interview with Dr. Gallo on COVID-19, Variants and Vaccines

In an exclusive interview with CBN, Dr. Robert Gallo, a world-renowned virus expert, speculated that certain components of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines may induce the immune system to produce an antibody, which can cause a very small number of people. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, thrombosis.

Friday, April 09, 2021

Aljazeera: Which vaccine is best? The one you can get first, experts say

As the United States ramps up its COVID-19 inoculation campaign, aiming to make vaccines available to all adults by April 19, some doctors and health workers are concerned that brand preferences among potential vaccine recipients could hurt attempts to slow the spread of the virus.

Thursday, April 08, 2021

Fox 5 DC: Experts weigh in on timing for second covid-19 vaccine doses

Just how important is timing when it comes to the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines? Walgreens is now adjusting its vaccine scheduling process after being asked to do so by the CDC. They were spacing Pfizer vaccines 28 days apart instead of recommended 21 days, because it was just easier to schedule them the same as the Moderna shot.

Friday, April 02, 2021

Baltimore Sun: Q&A with Dr. Robert Gallo: ‘The world has to be linked to fight a pandemic’

Robert Gallo, the eminent virologist best known as co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, says the world needs a system to confront viral disease that’s free of politics and primed to quickly warn nations about new threats as if “the bad Martians are coming.” The uneven and politicized response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a worldwide toll approaching 3 million, including 553,000 deaths in the United States, proves Gallo’s point.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

USA Today Opinion: Why COVID-19 survivors should only get one dose of mRNA vaccine

Data seems to be indicating that survivors of COVID-19 may not need two doses of mRNA vaccine, which would free up more doses for others.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

ABC7 WJLA - 7 On Your Side: Doctor rates COVID-19 risks for activities in a partially-vaccinated world

“We see people come in, it's still with really severe disease,” said Dr. Eleanor Wilson, an infectious disease specialist and an associate professor of medicine at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

The Wall Street Journal: For COVID-19 survivors, one shot may be enough, preliminary studies show

The research, while preliminary, found that the previously infected people generated protection against the disease quickly and at dramatically higher levels after a first shot.

Thursday, February 18, 2021

The Science Advisory Board: The next generation of COVID-19 vaccines: Gallo on next steps

With emergency authorizations for several COVID-19 vaccines under our belt, the question remains if these vaccines will be enough to carry us through the end of the pandemic. Experts agree that there will likely need to be additional vaccines to achieve full recovery. In this two-part series, we discuss what a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine might look like, and which candidates are in the running for authorizations.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland sees little flu this season as researchers wonder if flu vaccine staves off COVID-19

February is typically the cruelest month for the flu with thousands of infections, hundreds hospitalized and some dying in Maryland. Not this year. Due in part to the coronavirus pandemic and preventative measures associated with it, the influenza virus is downright rare in Maryland and across the nation. But researchers are wondering if there’s a chance that the flu shot you got in the fall may yet fend off a nasty infection — of COVID-19.

Friday, February 12, 2021

The Washington Post: Scientists said claims about China creating the coronavirus were misleading. They went viral anyway.

The spread of the unverified assertions by Chinese scholar Li-Meng Yan, widely dismissed as “flawed,” show how vulnerable scientific sites are to misuse and misunderstanding.

Friday, February 12, 2021

China CDC Weekly: Commentary by Dr. Robert C. Gallo

The Great Coronavirus Pandemic of 2019−2021: the Future and the Requirement for China-America Cooperation - Over the past century, the great pandemics and most epidemics (defined as virus presence and disease induction presenting more than the expected number of infections in a population) were caused by the sudden outbreak of an RNA virus such as the pandemics of influenza, polio, and HIV/AIDS and the epidemics of influenza, Ebola, Dengue, Zika, West Nile, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Chikungunya.

Thursday, February 04, 2021

WTOP NEWS: What a new U.Md. study says about skipping second doses of COVID-19 vaccine

None of the trials conducted on the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines tested them on people who already had been infected by the coronavirus. Now, a study involving people previously infected with COVID-19 suggests the immune response from getting sick may act like getting a first dose of those double-shot vaccines.

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Business Insider: People who had COVID-19 may develop 10 times more antibodies after a single vaccine dose - a sign they might only need one shot

Business Insider - People who had COVID-19 developed at least 10 times more antibodies after their first vaccine dose than the average uninfected person who received two doses, new research shows. Another preliminary study similarly found that healthcare workers who had COVID-19 responded to their first shot the way most people respond to their second. The researchers both suggested that post-COVID patients may only need one shot to sufficiently protect them from the disease again.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Getting treatment early for COVID-19

Baltimore (WBFF) — If you test positive for COVID-19, doctors are reminding you to get treatment right away even if your symptoms aren't bad in the moment. Dr. Anthony Amoroso, infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, joins the morning show to talk about why that's important.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

UMSOM Institute of Human Virology’s Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD Receives Top Award from National Physician’s Group

Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and Director of UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Division of Clinical Care and Research, has been awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. Dr. Kottilil is also Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UMSOM Department of Medicine and is a scientific advisory member of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

Friday, December 11, 2020

Bloomberg TV Asia: Dr. Robert Gallo on COVID-19 Vaccines

Dr. Robert Gallo, co-founder and international scientific advisor of the Global Virus Network and the co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, discusses the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines. The first Covid-19 vaccine expected to be deployed in the U.S. won the backing of a panel of government advisers, a step that will likely help clear the way for emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Gallo, who co-discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS in 1984, speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Dr. Robert Gallo on Bloomberg Asia on COVID Vaccine Prospects

Dr. Robert C. Gallo, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific advisor of the Global Virus Network, discusses the timeline and safety of Covid-19 vaccine trials. He speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia".

Sunday, November 01, 2020

The Scientist: How Some Vaccines Protect Against More than Their Targets

As researchers test existing vaccines for nonspecific protection against COVID-19, immunologists are working to understand how some inoculations protect against pathogens they weren’t designed to fend off.

Friday, October 30, 2020

Fox45 News: Contagion figures surrounding Covid-19

Since the beginning of Covid-19, major questions have been asked and some still linger; how long are you contagious and can you be re-infected once you've had the virus Infectious disease physician at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute of Human Virology, Dr. Rohit Talwani, joined Fox 45 Morning News Friday to answer those burning questions.

Monday, October 12, 2020

WJLA (Washington, DC): How long can you spread coronavirus once infected? We found out.

Social distancing, hand hygiene and face masks can help curb the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus but if you do get sick, how long can you spread COVID to others? 7 On Your Side went looking for answers.

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

GVN’s Top Virus Experts Meet Together To Identify Most Promising Advances To Battle COVID-19 & Strategies To Prepare For Future Pandemics

Rapid Diagnostic Testing, Repurposing Drug Therapies and Vaccines Targeting Innate Immunity, Are Integral Factors in Mitigating COVID-19. The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of the world’s leading medical and basic virology research centers working to prevent illness and death from viral disease, convened a press conference with attendees from across the globe to discuss key takeaways from the GVN virtual 2020 Special Annual Meeting held September 23-24, 2020.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Institute of Human Virology and Italian Researchers identify a SARS-CoV-2 Viral Strain with Deletion in a Protein, Possibly Reducing Fatalities

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, in collaboration with scientists from Campus Biomedico in Rome, Italy announced today the results of studies showing the emergence of a SARS-CoV-2 viral strain with a deletion in a protein known as nsp1. These data, accepted for publication today by the Journal of Translational Medicine, (link here) may indicate the emergence of a less pathogenic viral strain.

Monday, August 03, 2020

Eureka, Charles River Laboratories: Could the Oral Polio Vaccine be Used to Prevent COVID-19?

Virologist Robert Gallo, MD, has had a long and storied career in academic and government research. He is the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. Despite his deep roots in HIV, Dr. Gallo’s current focus is, not surprisingly, COVID-19, which emerged in China last year and within four months morphed into a full-blown pandemic. As usual, Dr. Gallo’s research strategy has raised eyebrows. Unlike the antibody and RNA vaccines that are all the rage in COVID-19 science, Gallo is putting his energies behind repurposing the oral polio virus vaccine developed in the 1950s by Albert Sabin.

Monday, August 03, 2020

Infectious Disease Special Edition: COVID-19 and HIV: Was It a Deadly Mix?

Social distancing is one of the curses of COVID-19, and may fall more heavily on people with HIV than on those without this burden. “People with HIV, and in particular certain subsets of that group—the LGBTQ community, older adults aging with HIV, etc.—face more mental health issues than the general population,” said Sarah Schmalzle, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, in Baltimore. “Many of our patients also already face significant isolation and loneliness due to a combination of HIV stigma, losses of friends and family to HIV, and aging.”

Friday, July 31, 2020

RollingStone-Useful Idiots: Dr. Robert Gallo on a COVID-19 Vaccine

Dr. Robert Gallo, director of the Institute for Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, joins the show to give his take on the prospects for an effective COVID-19 vaccine. Gallo is skeptical of the approach many organizations are taking with antibody vaccines, citing the similarly low efficacy those treatments had with HIV due to the low durability of the antibodies. Dr. Gallo’s research is mainly related to Oral Polio Vaccine, which he thinks needs to be tested more in regard to innate immunity.

Friday, July 24, 2020

A Statement from the Leadership of the Institute of Human Virology and the Global Virus Network on the Passing of Renowned Chinese Virologist Yi Zeng

The IHV at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of the world’s preeminent human and animal virologists from 55 Centers of Excellence and 10 Affiliates in 32 countries, collectively mourns the passing of Professor Yi Zeng, MD, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, former President of the Chinese Academy of the Preventive Medicine and former Dean of the College of Life Science and Bioengineering at Beijing University of Technology.

Monday, July 20, 2020

NPR: Early Oxford-AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine Data 'Encouraging,' Scientists Say

Dr. Robert Gallo is quoted about an experimental vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University to protect against COVID-19 that triggered an immune response against the coronavirus and appeared to be safe.

Tuesday, July 07, 2020

Courthouse News Service: Global Progress on Ending HIV/AIDS Derailed by Covid-19

A United Nations program aimed at eliminating HIV/AIDS released a report Monday showing that the global response to the epidemic has fallen far short of goals set for 2020, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday, July 06, 2020

Sputnik Radio: What If There Is No Vaccine for COVID-19?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Robert Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. What would you think if someone told you that we already have a vaccine that at least helps fight Covid-19? That may already be the case. Two American scientists, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Konstantin Chumakov, are positing that decades-old live vaccines for things like polio and tuberculosis strengthen the immune system’s first line of defense a more general way to fight infection. And the history books show us that that sometimes translates into at least some cross-protection against completely different viruses.

Friday, July 03, 2020

KUSI San Diego News: Dr. Robert Gallo suggests an oral polio vaccine could help fight coronavirus

Dr. Robert Gallo from the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Global Virus Network wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. The opinion piece stated that OPV, oral polio vaccine, could be a cheap and effective way to fight coronavirus. Dr. Gallo discussed his opinion piece on Good Morning San Diego.

Thursday, July 02, 2020

13D Global Strategy & Research Report

COVID-19 outbreaks are multiplying and immunity may be short-lived. Could existing “live” vaccines, which stimulate innate immunity, outshine vaccines targeting the “spike” protein?

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: An Old Vaccine May Help Against Coronavirus: A tablet for polio boosts innate immunity, which fights other viruses.

In this op-ed coauthored by Dr. Robert C. Gallo and Daniel J. Arbess, they discuss how “An Old Vaccine May Help Against Coronavirus: A tablet for polio boosts innate immunity, which fights other viruses.”

Monday, June 29, 2020

Baltimore Magazine Special Edition: Dr. Gallo Featured

Dr. Robert Gallo is featured in Baltimore Magazine's special edition, "On the Front Lines: Acts of Courage and Kindness in the Age of Coronavirus."

Friday, June 26, 2020

IHV in the News

Links to news stories featuring the IHV from June 11 to June 25, 2020.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The New York Times: Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine

In a letter to the editor to The New York Times entitled, "Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine," the noted virologist and head of the IHV says a polio vaccine may be an ideal solution until we find a Covid-specific vaccine.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy

The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy: A married pair of virologists in Moscow tested a vaccine on their own children in the 1950s. Now, a side effect they found is sparking new hope for a defense against the coronavirus.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

France 24: Dr. Mohammad Sajadi Speaks with France 24 on COVID-19 and Seasonality

Does Covid-19 spread faster in winter? Modelling by US researchers suggests the transmission of Covid-19 could be seasonal. Mohammad Sajadi, associate professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology, says the virus first spread in areas of low temperature and low humidity, common to winter time in temperate areas.

Friday, June 12, 2020

Institute of Human Virology and Italian Researchers Find Higher Daily Temperatures Lead to a Decrease in COVID-19 Related Deaths

Insights into population density and daily temperatures provide a path to public health strategies. The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, in collaboration with scientists from Campus Biomedico in Rome and Ulisse Biomed and University of Trieste, in Trieste, Italy announced today the results of studies showing an inverse correlation between average high daily temperatures and COVID-19 related death rates in different geographical areas.

Friday, June 12, 2020

The Washington Post: We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’

Dr. Robert Gallo writes a Letter to the Editor to The Washington Post entitled, “We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’,” regarding their June 4 front-page article “Cold War echoes in race for vaccine,” about the “race” among nations, notably the United States, China, and Russia and other European nations for development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

Friday, June 12, 2020

CNN Health: An Existing Polio Vaccine Could Help Protect Against Coronavirus, Top Experts Say

CNN: There is plenty of evidence that existing inoculations such as polio vaccines protect children against a wide range of infections and it's worth trying them out against the new coronavirus, a team of experts wrote in Science magazine Thursday.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

NBC News: Polio Vaccine Could Give Temporary Protection Against COVID-19, Scientists Hope

NBC News: As the world waits for a coronavirus vaccine, some scientists are proposing that existing vaccines could give the body’s immune system a much-needed temporary boost to stave off infection. It’s still unclear whether such an approach would work, and some experts are skeptical. Others — including researchers in Israel, the Netherlands and Australia — are already investigating whether a tuberculosis vaccine could help jump-start the immune system and make COVID-19 less deadly, though the World Health Organization strongly advises against using that vaccine until it’s proven effective against the coronavirus.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Global Virus Network Suggests Oral Polio Vaccine May Provide Temporary Protection Against COVID-19

The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of the world’s preeminent human and animal virologists from 53 Centers of Excellence, including the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and 10 Affiliates in 32 countries, published a viewpoint in Science today that the stimulation of innate immunity by live attenuated vaccines in general, and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in particular, could provide temporary protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Tuesday, June 02, 2020

UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Awarded Grants to Strengthen COVID-19 Response in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Center for International Health, Education and Biosecurity (Ciheb) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology was awarded $4 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response activities in Botswana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Monday, May 11, 2020

BBC Global News Interviews Dr. Robert Gallo on Oral Polio Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and More

Dr. Robert Gallo appeared on BBC World News with Matthew Amroliwala for a one-on-one, lengthy interview during their Coronavirus Explained segment.

Saturday, May 09, 2020

Dr. Robert Gallo Discuss COVID-19 Research on Aljazeera News

Aljazeera discusses the status of therapy, testing and vaccine research on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 with Dr. Robert Gallo.

Thursday, May 07, 2020

The Disappointing Truth About Antibody Testing: There’s still a lot we don’t know about COVID-19

Dr. Robert Gallo discusses the status of COVID-19 antibody test with Vox's The Verge

Wednesday, May 06, 2020

The Coronavirus Appears to have Mutated. What Does that Mean for Contagiousness?

While small mutations in the virus's genetic code are evident, it's unclear what these changes mean for people, if anything at all.

Saturday, May 02, 2020

IHV's Dr. Robert Gallo on FOX's Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren

Overtime: Dr. Robert Gallo talks coronavirus treatments and antibody testing.

Saturday, May 02, 2020

Dr. Robert Gallo on iHeart Radio to Discuss COVID-19

Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring experts on COVID-19-related issues, including the co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the senior vice president for U.S. Programs & Advocacy at Save the Children, and the managing editor of the Military Times. Topics range from a discussion about why some people infected by the coronavirus are asymptomatic, while others face severe reactions and even death, to assistance for impoverished children, and a breakdown of the impact the virus is having on the U.S. military and veterans.

Friday, May 01, 2020

Could an Oral Polio Vaccine Stop the Coronavirus Pandemic?

A YouTube video by the American Chemical Society and produced by PBS.

Friday, May 01, 2020

NYT Op-Ed Features Gallo-Chumakov Oral Polio Vaccine for COVID-19 Idea

What if We Already Have a Coronavirus Vaccine? Researchers are testing whether decades-old vaccines for polio and tuberculosis could protect against infection.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Institute of Human Virology Honors Legacy of Maeve Kennedy McKean With Global Public Health Fellowship

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced today the Maeve Kennedy McKean Global Public Health Fellowship, named in honor of the public health activist, whose inspiring life ended tragically alongside her oldest son last week. The first fellow will arrive on July 1 and will work on the Institute’s efforts in ending the HIV epidemic in Africa within its Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB) and Division of Clinical Care and Research.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

What COVID-19 Symptoms Look Like, Day By Day

(Source: Business Insider) According to the World Health Organization-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, as of February 20, 80% of laboratory-confirmed cases were mild to moderate, 14% were severe, and 6% were critical. Just to be clear, a mild case of COVID-19 is not like a mild cold. The symptoms will still be pretty severe. Anything less than needing oxygen puts you in this category. Severe cases do need supplemental oxygen, and critical ones are defined by respiratory or multi-organ failure.

Wednesday, March 06, 2019

UMSOM Researcher Elected as Fellow to American Academy of Microbiology

Richard Y. Zhao, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Associate Member of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), has been elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). AAM is an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Institute of Human Virology Researchers Discover That a Bacterial Protein Promotes Cancer

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) announced today the discovery that DnaK, a protein of the bacterium mycoplasma, interferes with the mycoplasma-infected cell’s ability to respond to and repair DNA damage, a known origin of cancer.

Monday, December 03, 2018

Institute of Human Virology Names Dr. Man Charurat as Director of the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine today announced the appointment of Man E. Charurat, PhD, MHS, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IHV as the Director of IHV’s Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB). Dr. Charurat will replace Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA. The announcement was made by Robert C. Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director of the IHV, and Co-Founder and Director of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

WYPR: Could Polio Vaccine Corral Covid-19?

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